Category Archives: Gun Rights

Quote of the day—Dean Weingarten

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Once you internalize the decision to be unarmed, arguments on the other side become understandable. The voluntarily unarmed people we are attempting to understand are those who have moved from the decision to be unarmed, to the policy statement “guns are bad”.

Armed people have a power advantage over unarmed people. People do not want others to have a power advantage over them. It makes them uncomfortable. To prevent this, the voluntarily unarmed often want everyone else to be unarmed.

It is why many who are voluntarily unarmed dislike concealed carry, but violently abhor open carry. Open carry presents them with a reality they cannot easily ignore. It destroys their comfortable fantasy.

Dean Weingarten
May 5, 2021
Learn to Think like Someone who Chose to be Unarmed
[That last paragraph seems particularly insightful to me. The observation that they violently abhor open carry rings true. I had casually wondered why they get so upset about open carry by one out of a thousand or 10 thousand when, on average, about one out of every 50 people they meet on the sidewalk is a carrying concealed firearm. The hypothesis that open carry destroys their comfortable fantasy seems reasonable.

Now I wonder if this might be something we can use to our advantage. Destruction of their fantasy might be a good thing, but yet I can easily see open carry being something that unites and activates them.

My initial analysis is that widespread open carry is probably counter productive until we have a solid SCOTUS decision saying the right of the people to keep and bear arms includes carry in public. I could probably be persuaded otherwise.

Please present your arguments and let’s discuss.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Alan M. Gottlieb

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This is a humongous loss for anti-gun Democrat State Attorneys General. They consistently attack Second Amendment rights any way they can.

This legal debacle was led by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson who became famous for suing the Trump administration in a series of partisan legal actions that cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

SAF and Defense Distributed look forward to sharing technical firearms information with millions of interested people on the Internet.

Alan M. Gottlieb
April 29, 2021
NINTH CIRCUIT VACATES INJUNCTION IN 3-D PRINTING CASE, TELLS LOWER COURT TO DISMISS
[This is incrementalism at work for us.

The proposed new regulations on “ghost guns” (page 21) will not nullify this ruling:

…nothing in this rule would restrict persons not otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms from making their own firearms at home without markings solely for personal use (not for sale or distribution) in accordance with Federal, State, and local law.

As long as parts are available for AR-15 repairs, AR-15 lower receivers can be made to subvert bans on common sporting rifles. Thank SAF.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Benjamin Fearnow

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A new ABC News/Washington Post poll released Tuesday from among more than 1,000 U.S. adults found that Americans overall are less supportive of new gun control legislations than they were just three years ago. People between the ages of 18-29 saw the sharpest decline in backing for new weapons laws, with fewer than half now saying new legislation is needed to reduce the risk of future mass shootings or to block “red flag” buyers.

In April 2018, the last time the ABC/Washington Post survey was conducted on this issue, 65 percent of these young Americans said they support gun control laws. That percentage is now 45.

Benjamin Fearnow
April 28, 2021
Americans Under 30 Have Rapidly Turned Against Gun Control Laws, Poll Finds
[It frequently takes a while but reality does have a way of making itself known.

And what’s with this name, “Fearnow”? Apparently it’s real.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Dean Weingarten

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A major point of disagreement among Second Amendment supporters was how to approach the problem. One group claimed anything but full and complete recognition of Second Amendment rights was futile and counter-productive. The argument was: any lesser legislation, moving incrementally toward full Second Amendment rights, would only legitimize infringements on those rights. They were/are the “All or Nothing” group. Some called/call themselves “principled”.

The other group of Second Amendment supporters argued Second Amendment rights could be restored bit by bit. Pass legislation first, for a permit system. Keep reforming and improving the permit system. Reduce requirements, reduce fees, reduce “gun free zones”.  Keep on incrementally improving the law, until Second Amendment rights were fully restored. They were/are the “Incrementalists”.  In the middle 1990’s it was not clear if either approach would be effective. 

Twenty years later, it was clear. Incrementalism worked.

Dean Weingarten
May 3, 2021
Restoring Second Amendment Rights: Incrementalism vs All or Nothing
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day T. Scott Webb

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Even though the Supreme Court left open the option of regulation to combat the dangers of gun violence in Heller, it is this Court’s opinion that the FOID Card Act goes too far. The Act makes criminals out of law-abiding citizens who are attempting to protect their lives within their homes.

After analyzing all the evidence in this matter, this Court finds that FOID Card Act is NOT substantially related to an important government interest as applied to the Defendant in this case. In addition, the Court finds that any fee associated with the exercising the core fundamental Constitutional right of armed self-defense with the confines of one’s home violates the Second Amendment.

T. Scott Webb
White County Resident Circuit Judge
April 26, 2021
People of the State of Illinois v. Vivian Claudine Brown
[This case started on March 18, 2017. It has taken over four years for this case to get this far. It went to the state Supreme Court once already and may will go back up again. Why aren’t these delays considered unconstitutional?

See also Illinois Circuit Judge T. Scott Webb ruled against Illinois’ Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card requirement on Tuesday and ILL. JUDGE RULES FOID CARD REQUIREMENT UNCONSTITUTIONAL FOR GUNS IN HOME.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Independent Firearms Owners Association

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The Supreme Court today granted certiorari in the case NYS Rifle and Pistol Association V. Superintendent of NYS Police (No. 20-843)

The case will be heard in the fall term of the court later this year with a ruling expected in the spring of 2022. The Independent Firearm Owners Association will file an Amicus brief in the proceedings.

The issues raised are straightforward. Does an individual right of self protection with a handgun extend beyond the property of the owner? “Can a government which cannot protect its citizens deny them the means to protect themselves?” asked Peter Sullivan, former NYS Assemblyman from Westchester, NY and Board Member of the IFOA.

Firearm owners have been asking this question for a generation in NYS ever since the police have denied carry licenses to ordinary law abiding citizens for no reason, while granting them to wealthy, powerful, and politically connected “big shots”. (Mayor Lindsay, Donald Trump, Eleanor Roosevelt, & Howard Stern)

The issue raised in this case is not about training or other restrictions before issuing licenses, but of fairness and equal rights. “Either the government trusts its citizens or it does not, they can’t have it both ways”, concluded Richard Feldman, President of the IFOA.

Independent Firearms Owners Association
April 26, 2021
Media release via email.
[See also:

This is a really big deal in more than one way.

The first is that there is a good chance this will overturn all the “may issue” concealed carry laws. It even has the potential (a big stretch with the SCOTUS rewording of the question being asked) of overturn all licensing requirement for carrying a firearm.

The second important point I want to make is that court review of concealed carry licensing should have taken place and been settled law shortly after the Sullivan Act was passed in 1911. That it is happening 110 years later tell us something is very broken with our legal system.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Evan Nappen

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Don’t keep your ammunition in your glove box despite what you may have heard. If you keep it in the glove box, what happens? Well, you get pulled over for a minor traffic violation like what happened to my client.

What’s the first thing that the police say? “Your license, registration, and insurance.” And what do you do? You open the glove box to get out your paperwork. As soon as you do that, the officer sees ammunition or a magazine. Or a magazine with ammunition. I’m talking about a gun magazine, not Life magazine. A gun mag, a firearm component, a holster. Anything like that in your glove box, they now are going to have arguably probable cause to search your vehicle for other weapons. This is common, particularly in New Jersey.

It now can escalate the whole thing, and before you know it, in New Jersey, you’ll be facing charges for your cased, unloaded handgun that you had in the trunk. You are looking at a Second Degree charge, up to 10 years and State Prison, a minimum mandatory three and a half years, no chance of parole, because you left your magazine or your ammunition or your holster in the glove box.

Evan Nappen
April 13, 2021
Five Gun Law Myths That Can Land You In Jail ~ Listen Now
[It’s this sort of thing that keeps me out of New Jersey until they are giving away free varmint hunting licenses for the criminal politicians and those that enforce these illegal laws.—Joe]

Quote of the day—bgugin

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You and I both know the cops are all in on guns and the NRA. I see a lot of them as the problem.

bgugin
April 20, 2021
Comment to Can Utah ignore federal laws that restrict gun rights? Lawmakers are asking.
[With an attitude like this you have to conclude they are either delusional in their view of reality and/or are knowingly enabling evil.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Jen Psaki

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There’s no reason anyone needs to have an assault weapon. There’s no reason that there shouldn’t be universal background checks to ensure guns don’t get in the hands of people who should not have those guns.

Jen Psaki
White House Press Secretary
April 19, 2021
In first White House TikTok Live, Jen Psaki talks gun control, police reform
[Don’t let your opposition control the topic of the debate. If you’re defending your losing. Turn the above into something like:

There is no reason for common sporting firearms to be banned. There is no good that can come from background checks. If someone cannot be trusted with a gun why are they allowed in public without supervision? The Second Amendment is absolute. If you are working to infringe the right to keep and bear arms I hope you enjoy your trial.

If you only play defense the enemy gets to choose when, where, and how to attack. You need to attack on your terms.—Joe].

Quote of the day—Stephen P. Halbrook

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Tyrants, conquerors, and dictators of every breed disarm their subjects in order to dominate and exploit them. It’s an iron law of history.

Stephen P. Halbrook
September 6, 2019
Recalling the Tragic History of Gun Control
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Randall G. Holcombe

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The debate on the effectiveness of gun control measures to reduce firearm violence distracts attention from the real motive behind gun control. Nobody wants more gun violence, so focusing on gun violence shifts the debate in favor of gun control. What the proponents of gun control really want is control, and the gun violence argument is merely a means to the end that they actually seek–a disarmed population.

Randall G. Holcombe
April 16, 2021
Isn’t About Reducing Firearm Violence; It’s About Control
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Watson Coleman

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Silencers are not tools of self-defense, they are tools of murder, They have no legal application.

Watson Coleman
Congresswoman D-N.J
April 16, 2021
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Colleagues Reintroduce Gun Safety Legislation to Outlaw Gun Silencers
[This is what they think of you. Protecting your hearing is not a legal application of this common safety equipment.

That I and my students have used suppressors for many thousands of shots without anyone being murdered means nothing to these people. They are just making stuff up to avoid the real issue.

The real issue is that suppressors are protected by the Second Amendment. They are considered arms and infringing upon right to keep and bear arms is a crime.

The same arguments these evil people are putting forward about muffling the sound of firearms could be just as well applied to vehicle mufflers.

Get them while you can and work toward prosecuting these criminals.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Gabriel Keane

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A few stores in Brooklyn Center were left unmolested, however: businesses guarded out front by armed civilians.

Despite calls to violent “revolution” by looters, they did not appear interested in a confrontation with determined shopkeepers.

Gabriel Keane
April 13, 2021
Only Stores Left Untouched In Minneapolis Area Riots Were Guarded By Armed Civilians
[Unexpectedly!

Via email from Rolf.—Joe]

Quote of the day—U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl

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My colleagues and I are working hard to protect the 2nd Amendment. One measure I’ve taken is cosponsoring the Gun Owner Registration Information Protection (GRIP) Act, which would put an end to these two sweeping gun control measures. The GRIP Act would clarify existing law prohibiting the federal government from storing information acquired during the firearms background check process. Additionally, it would clarify the prohibition on the use of any federal funding by states or local entities for the storage or listing of sensitive, personal information related to the legal ownership or possession of firearms.

Jerry Carl
U.S. Representative Alabama’s First Congressional District
April 12, 2021
Carl: The fight to protect the 2nd Amendment
[Even if successful this would hardly “protect the 2nd Amendment”. It would be little more than a gesture in the correct direction.

This is not to say that Rep. Carl and his colleagues are enemies of the 2nd Amendment or even that they do not understand the problem or are not doing the best they can given the current situation.

But what is ultimately going to be required is the repeal of thousands of the laws that infringe the 2nd Amendment and the prosecution of those in government who have, or conspired to, violate our rights. Sure, it would have an extremely low chance of passage at the Federal level today, but how about introducing legislation providing for the funding of Federal law enforcement and prosecutors to investigate and prosecute state officials who have advocated for, passed, and enforced some of the most egregious gun control laws?

Just introducing such legislation will move the Overton Window and be a “shot across the bow” of the current course of gun grabbers.—Joe]

ATF director nominee Chipman at Ruby Ridge and Waco

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According to Daily Mail REVEALED: Biden’s nominee for ATF head is an anti-gun lobbyist who was at the Ruby Ridge standoff and Waco massacre – and lied about cult members shooting down helicopters.

The picture below is from the article. I’ve also seen this image several other places (here for example—H/T to John S. for the email):

DavidChipmanWaco

That is the smoldering ashes of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco Texas and 76 of its residents in the background. It takes a special type of person to pose in front of that.

That he also apparently played a part the murders of innocent people at Ruby Ridge should make it clear what type of agency President Biden wants the ATF to be.

Prepare appropriately.

Quote of the day—Doc. Block @MedicPlastic

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By nominating the man responsible for Waco, President Biden is sending a message.

He will kill you and your family by burning you alive, just to get your guns.

Doc. Block @MedicPlastic
Tweeted on April 7, 2021
[H/T to Robb Allen.

While it’s plausible, perhaps even certain, President Biden is unaware he is sending this particular message. But that message has certainly been sent.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Frank J. Fleming @IMAO_

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Are ghost guns guns useable by ghosts or guns that allow you to shoot ghosts? Because that makes a big difference in whether I want them banned or not.

Frank J. Fleming @IMAO_
Tweeted on April 8, 2021
[As pointed out by Shawn Slipknotyk @slipknotyk06, there is another possibility which should be considered. Perhaps a ghost gun is a gun that shoot ghosts out the barrel.

I think we need to move very slowly on this whole ghost gun banning thing. There are constitutional questions as well. Surely if the guns are for ghosts of U.S. citizens then such a law would be unconstitutional. And if the ghosts were “undocumented immigrants”, once they are in this country don’t they have the same rights to gun ownership as citizen ghosts?—Joe]

Certain people weren’t allowed to have weapons

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Via Sean D Sorrentino @SorrentinoSean:

BidenSlavesAndNativeTribes

And as Sean asks, “So I guess that’s how you see us?”

That hypothesis certainly fits the available data.

ATF director nominee David Chipman

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Tomorrow President Biden will nominate David Chipman to be the director of the ATF. Chipman is no stranger to this blog. I wrote about him as “Senior Policy Advisor” for the Gifford Group. And he was part of a set of cherry picked “experts” at a Gun Policy Summit.

It’s like nominating a Grand Cyclops of the KKK* to head the office of the African American Administration. No such branch of government should exist. And putting someone who despises the rights of the people most affected by the organization is a recipe for some very tough times for those wishing to exercise their rights.

* I didn’t know this until I was verifying the title of Grand Cyclops, but before candidates for membership in the KKK would be accepted they were asked, “Are you now or have ever been a member of the Radical Republican Party?” I could easily see identical language being used today for admission to anti-gun groups.

Quote of the day—Joe Biden

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I’m the only one who has ever got them passed, man. The only gun control legislation that’s ever passed is mine. It’s going to happen again.

Joe Biden
POTUS
March 28, 2021
Biden Confident That Senate Will Approve Gun Control Legislation
[I know that Biden has been in politics for a long time but I didn’t realize he had the seniority to be a major player in the infringement of civil rights with NFA34. That’s truly impressive.

And I thought Senator Feinstein and Representative Schumer were authoring and pushing the evil Brady Bill and “Assault Weapon” ban legislation instead of Biden. I guess it must be the Alzheimer’s clouding my brain again such that I remember that wrong.—Joe]